The US State Department on Saturday said it was halting all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza while it conducts "a full and thorough" review, Reuters reported.
The department said "a small number" of temporary medical-humanitarian visas had been issued in recent days but did not provide a figure.
"All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days," the State Department announced on X.
According to official data from the Ministry, over 3,800 B1/B2 visas - which are used, among other things, for medical treatment in the US - were issued to Palestinian Authority residents since the beginning of the year, including 640 in May alone.
Jewish-American activist Laura Loomer, who is close to US President Donald Trump, claimed on social media that "Palestinian refugees" entered the US this month.
Following the State Department's announcement, she tweeted, "Following the release of my reports yesterday exposing flights of GAZANS arriving at airports all across the US, the US State Department just announced that 'All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped' while the US @StateDept 'conducts a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days.' This is fantastic news. Thank you @SecRubio for your prompt response to this invasion of our country by NGOS that have been accused of being pro-HAMAS @marcorubio!"
"Hopefully all GAZANS will be added to President Trump’s travel ban.
"There are doctors in other countries. The US is not the world’s hospital!"
In a separate tweet, she wrote: "The visas and arrivals of GAZANS to US airports isn’t new. This has been drastically increasing in speed and numbers over the last month, but it appears that the mass importation of GAZANS began under Joe Biden and it has continued into the Trump administration without being halted."
"It’s not a small number either. It’s A LOT. Hopefully GAZANS are added to the Trump travel ban, and hopefully every single Gazan who came in under Biden and Trump is immediately deported. They are not that sick if they can sit on a plane for 22 hours."
"I would like to see the US State Department produce a public report with the total number of GAZANS who came into our country and a termination of all visas for Gazans.
I strongly believe that it’s appropriate for the people who issued the visas to be fired and for the State Department to cut off all relations with all pro-HAMAS NGOS."